The Chosen (On Hold)

Chapter 6

I woke up the next morning at 4:00. I couldn't get back to sleep. Just thinking about going to the palace made me dizzy. So, I headed out for a jog. I ran for a 2 hours, trying to get all of the adrenaline out of my body. I got back home at around 7 o'clock. I could hear my family in the house getting ready for the big day. Crap! If aunt Rylan finds out I've been out of the house, she'll kill me! I decided to go through the back door. But something caught my eye before I could get there. Before Nora died, dad built a tree house in our backyard. Nora, Landon and I spent most of our time up there.

I quietly pulled out the ladder and climbed up. Once I got up there I noticed something different. There were candles lit up everywhere. Nobody has been up here except for me since Nora and mom died. Maybe Landon was up here. I looked at the walls, forgetting about the candles. Back when mom was still alive, dad loved to take pictures. He would take pictures whenever he could. There were millions of pictures of my family. I spotted my favorite one. It was a picture of Nora on her 9th birthday. She was smiling with her two front teeth missing. My family surrounded her just as she was about to blow out her candles. I looked at my mom, she was so young and so happy. The picture brought tears to my eyes.

" Abigail Grace Cader! Get down here this instant!" My aunt screamed. "Do you know how important today is? Now carry your butt down here!You have to get ready. I quickly wiped away my tears and blew out the candles. I climbed back down from the treehouse and headed inside. Before I stepped into the house I saw a flash of hair that looked just like mine disappear into the forest. I was about to go after her, I knew the forest like the back of my hand. But before I could, aunt Rylan pulled me inside.

"Now go take a shower! I'll get your stuff ready!" I ran to my bathroom not wanting to make her mad anymore. Once I took a shower, I headed to my room and found my stuff laid out on my bed. Today I was wearing a white lacey shirt and black pants(mandatory). I paired it with white lacey high heels(my aunts idea). I had on gold daisy earrings, gold stacking bracelets, and my owl necklace. I had my hair in a messy flip pony tail and had no make up on.

"You look beautiful honey."my aunt said, standing next to the door next to my dad. "But you're forgetting something"she pulled out a lily and tucked it into my hair. My dad and her left to let me pack. I packed a set of extra clothes, my converse(just in case the heels didn't work too well with me), and my bracelet my dad gave me to match the owl necklace my mom gave me.

We drove to the airport after eating breakfast. I got out of the car and was surrounded by cameras. My dad and my brothers cleared a path for me and my aunt. Once I got to the entrance, I knew it was time to say goodbye. I hugged everyone except my dad. I hugged my dad last. Once I let go I saw tears in my dad's eyes.

"Abigail. Do you know why we named you Abigail?" I shook my head, tears threatening to spill out. "Because it meand father's joy, and Abigail, you are my joy." My tears finally let loose. My dad wiped off my tears and sent me inside. I looked back at them one more time before I headed in.

After I checked in, I headed to where one of the selected was sitting. I sat down next to her. There was an awkward silence until I decided to speak.

"Hi my name is Abigail" I said with a small smile on my face.

"Hey! My name is Maia. God I was hoping you would talk to me! I didn't want to go through this competition without a friend."she said.

"I guess we're friends then!" I said back to her. We talked about our lives and families. Maia is a 4. She lives with her 3 sisters and her mom.

It was finally time to go but we were still missing one person. We were just about to board the plane before someone bumped into me.

"Excuse me. And who are you?"I asked.

"You've got to be kidding me. I'm Ray Armstrong. Model and Actor. I work for Star Films. My daddy's the producer. I'm here for the Selection. And don't tell me you two are here for it too. You're no competition compared to me" she said as she got into the plane.

I looked at Maia and started laughing.

"Idiots" I heard her mutter. We boarded the plane. I sat next to Maia by a window seat. And we were off to the castle.